Moneragala and Mullaitivu cooperatives share knowledge on International Co-op Day

To commemorate the ‘International Day of Co- operatives’ on July 2, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)supported VEGA/BIZ+ programme brought together two of its cooperative business partners – the Moneragala-based Koularagama Industrial Cooperative Society Limited and the Mullaitivu-based Visuvamadu Farmers’ MultiPurpose Cooperative Society.

This was to share knowledge on sustaining and growing the businesses, as well as to create awareness and promote the ‘cooperative ideals’ of economic efficiency, equality, and peace, according to a USAID media release.

“This business exchange is an excellent example of the U.S. Government’s and the American people’s commitment to economic and social progress in Sri Lanka,” said Michael Parr, Chief of Party of the BIZ+ programme. “Cooperative businesses have social enterprise and community involvement as the core of their business model.”

Both cooperatives have entered into investment partnerships with the USAID BIZ+ programme in order to improve and expand their business models. The Koularagama Industrial Co- op is restarting the production and marketing of ceramic and clay products, creating new jobs, and increasing the Society’s membership. Meanwhile, the Visuvamadu Farmers’ Co- op is currently upgrading technologies and improving the efficiency at its paddy milling facility, enabling the co- op to better serve its 2,000 members and to increase the number of local paddy suppliers, the release said.

Through the BIZ+ programme, USAID has invested more than Rs. 66 million (approximately US$460,000) to help four cooperative businesses to build, improve, and expand their operations, investing in equipment and specialised machinery. BIZ+ also provides training and expertise in specialised areas such as technology transfer, quality improvement, and workplace safety. Overall, the partnerships forged with cooperative businesses will generate hundreds of jobs and provide sustainable incomes in economically lagging areas of Sri Lanka.

The exchange visit, was presided over by S. M. Sajith, Cooperative Development Officer, who represented the Commissioner of Cooperative Development for Mullaitivu. Welcoming the guests, the General Manager of the Visuvamadu Co- op, Sivagnanasundaram Sivaruban, expressed his eagerness to take advantage of a “golden opportunity to cultivate a mutually beneficial relationship with a co- op from the South.”

Chairperson of the Koularagama Industrial Co-op, Ms. S. A. Sriyani Subasingha added, “We have come from Sevanagala in Moneragala to meet our colleagues here in Mullaitivu and to recognize the principle of ‘cooperation among cooperatives’. We are sharing ideas about how to better serve our members and rural communities, with the aim of working together so that our businesses improve and communities prosper.”